


A Soft Place to Land

by ClexaPaily



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Clexa, F/F, Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Implied clexa, Lesbian Sex, Lexa memories, One Shot, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Sad Clarke, Smut, clarke / niylah, niylarke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-16 02:08:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5809384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClexaPaily/pseuds/ClexaPaily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is what happens at the trading post between Niylah and Clarke in 3x01, both the part we saw and what we didn't see. Clarke POV, wherein her encounter with Niylah brings her unexpected comfort and sexytimes, but also brings her face to face with her deeply conflicted feelings re: a certain Commander.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Soft Place to Land

The burn of the moonshine Niylah had so kindly offered her warmed Clarke's stomach as she swallowed the last of it, the pain of the panther's strike partly dulled in its wake. Niylah entered the room with a white rag and a bowl of water to tend Clarke's wound.

"I'm sorry if this hurts, Clarke. I'll try to be as gentle as I can." 

The young woman spoke in English to make Clarke feel more at home, more welcome. It was almost startling how quickly Clarke's mind eased back into her native language, like stepping into a warm bath. She had tried to immerse herself in Trigedasleng as much as possible these last months. It made it easier to separate herself from her old life, to hide and to evade. To be no one. She had found a few safe havens here and there, especially in the first weeks before word of the bounty got around. People taught her, sometimes children. It wasn't hard once you understood the basics. She had started to dream in the Grounder tongue, when she could catch a few minutes' sleep without having nightmares. She tried to think in the language as much as she could. The limited expression it afforded her served to wall off access to unwanted feelings and memories.

The cold cloth shocked her at first. Niylah's hands followed close behind. Clarke's shoulders sagged in relief under her gentle touch, a touch that lingered more than strictly necessary. Clarke leaned forward, and the hint of a smile graced her lips as she felt the air hit the cool water on her back. No one had touched her with such tenderness in months. Not since... But she couldn't bring herself to think of that. Not now. She found Niylah desirable, with her soft smile and sad eyes that hinted at a kind of loss Clarke understood all too well. There had been some subtle flirting on her last couple of visits, especially this time before the bounty hunter barged in. Clarke was always in a hurry to get away before. Public spaces put her nerves on edge, even this remote outpost.

"I owe you more than this," Niylah had said of their transaction. "Pick something." She had given Clarke a meaningful look. Just a quick flash of the eyes. Grounder flirting was as subtle and minimal as the rest of their interactions, but Clarke had learned a lot about communication through eye contact from...

"The cat got the worst of it." And a soft laugh tickled Clarke's throat at Niylah's words, a strange but welcome sensation. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt any sense of ease. She had grown used to being on the move constantly, never staying in one place for too long. The brush with the bounty hunter had been too close this time, but Niylah had lied for her and saved her ass. Afterwards the grounder had been so open, sharing her gratitude for Clarke's actions at the Mountain. She went so far as to offer shelter - with the hint of more - while Clarke waited for the men to get further away from the trading post. The grounder's soft hands almost made her forget the danger, forget why she had to keep running. Even just the light touch on her wounded back, and Clarke felt a jolt of desire and a gush of wetness between her legs as her inner muscles clenched.

"No kill marks." The observation distracted Clarke from the pleasant wave of lust that had begun to cloud her senses alongside the moonshine that warmed her blood.

Clarke glanced behind her and replied softly, "My back's not big enough."

"Tell me about the mountain."

"There's nothing to tell. I did what I had to do. That's all." Clarke's voice chilled, grew flat, though her body still responded to Niylah's hands on her skin.

The young woman continued, her voice slightly raised in curiosity. "That's all? You killed our greatest enemy. You wiped them out by yourself..."

Clarke cut her off and turned to face the grounder, unable to hide her annoyance. "Niylah." The young woman paused her efforts. "Would you mind not talking?"

Niylah withdrew, a pained look crossing her face as she met Clarke's eyes. If she didn't know grounders better, Clarke would've even thought she saw a shadow of embarrassment in the way Niylah looked down as she pulled her hands away. In these solitary months she had grown unaccustomed to dealing with people, but she realized she had hurt the girl's feelings. Niylah's sincerity and kindness deserved better in return, and she did not wish to cause the girl any undeserved hurt. 

"No." Clarke reached out and grasped one of Niylah's hands as she withdrew, pulling it back towards her. She guided it to her shoulder. The grounder's eyes narrowed quizically, but her face soon softened in recognition of what Clarke meant. Without forethought she drew the young woman's hand further downward towards her breast. Gazing into Niylah's eyes, Clarke sought silent consent. And she found it, found her gaze answered with warmth, kindness, and yes, desire. A chasm of aching need gave way inside her, and she lunged forward, pulling Niylah into an open mouthed kiss.

Clarke moaned softly as she reached up to clutch Niylah's cheek. She stroked the soft skin with her thumb as the girl returned the kiss, responding with a moan cut short by Clarke's tongue. Overwhelmed by the sensation of kissing and being kissed, Clarke's body reacted before her mind had time to remember the last time she felt someone's lips on hers. It was different now anyway. Clarke was ready. She needed solace. Her body cried out for contact, for comfort. This generous young woman offered it to her. The urge to take Niylah right then and there overcame her, and Clarke pushed the other girl back onto the furs. 

She straddled the grounder and kissed her with nearly the ferocity she had used to battle the panther. Now was not a time for reverent exploration, for getting to know Niylah's body. She could only need, take, have. The soreness of her muscles dissipated, the blood still trickling from the scratch marks on her shoulder now forgotten. Clarke pressed her tongue into the girl's mouth and rocked her hips. Her inner muscles clenched on nothing, her clit throbbed for want of friction, and she felt herself grow slicker. Clarke roughly shoved her thigh between the other girl's legs and began to grind into her. Her body's own instincts guided her actions, much as they had in her encounter with the cat. Clarke had learned to trust those instincts, to be led by them, not to be diverted by thought or emotion. Fighting and fucking weren't that different, as it turned out.

Niylah met Clarke's every move with equal fervor, their tongues and lips clashing in uncalculated kisses. The girl's hands roved over her hips and back, her lithe body straining under Clarke. Needing to feel more of Niylah against her skin, she sat up impatiently, just long enough to shove down the sleeveless black shirt that was already falling off her shoulders. Clarke dove back down onto Niylah and captured the girl's lower lip between her own, fighting the urge to bite down.

This woman was strong, muscles taut. Niylah shoved her hips upward under Clarke's pelvis, used one leg to further destabilize her purchase on the furs. Then she mobilized her right leg and right shoulder to flip them both over. Clarke found herself on her back. A smoothly orchestrated grappling move. The woman had clearly trained. An impressed smile crossed Clarke's lips as Niylah pressed her into the furs, pinning Clarke's shoulders and kissing her hungrily.

The iron grip of the other girl's legs held Clarke's pelvis to the bed as she continued her assault on Clarke's open mouth. Then Niylah broke the kiss and sat up. Clarke gasped at the loss and strained to follow her up. Niylah nailed her back to the bed with a fierce glance, and Clarke fell back with a smirk as she watched the girl shed her shirt in one quick movement. Niylah bent back down and grabbed Clarke by the back of the neck, pulling her into another searing kiss. She sucked Clarke's upper lip between her own, jammed a knee in between Clarke's thighs, and rocked into her.

Just as suddenly as before, Niylah pushed up off of Clarke, who again gasped at the break in contact. But as she witnessed the top of Niylah's head receding down the front of her body, Clarke understood what the girl had in mind. No prelude, no sweet kisses to her stomach and thighs to ready her. Clarke smiled as she relaxed back into the furs, feeling more wetness coat her pussy in anticipation of what Niylah offered. She grasped at the furs at her hands to steady herself. The grounder paused at Clarke's waist and hooked her fingers into the top of her pants. Clarke lifted her hips just in time as Niylah jerked her pants and underwear down around her ankles. Clarke hurriedly kicked them the rest of the way off as Niylah stood up and stripped off her own pants. Clarke's eyes prowled her and admired her sleek body, but only for a second because by the time her eyes made it to the other woman's pert breasts, Niylah was on her again. 

She latched her mouth onto Clarke at the juncture of her neck and shoulder and licked, then sucked and grazed with her teeth. Then she bit. Probably hard enough to leave a mark. Clarke moaned in response, shifting to insert a thigh between Niylah's legs. The feel of the woman's skin flush against hers almost overwhelmed Clarke. She had ached for closeness, for pleasure, for intimacy. The girl seemed to read her mind.

The grounder's lips brushed at Clarke's ear. "I am wet for you, Clarke." She rubbed herself lasciviously onto Clarke's thigh, sliding back and forth as if to prove her point. Clarke's breath hitched, and her pussy twitched in response as she felt herself grow wetter. She threaded her fingers into Niylah's hair and pulled the girl in for another kiss. Clarke sucked the grounder's tongue when it entered her mouth. With her free hand she grasped Niylah's wrist and shoved the girl's hand down between them. This seemed to remind Niylah of her previous plan.

Clarke's chest heaved as she watched Niylah once again work her way down, this time pausing to take a nipple into her mouth. She sucked without any teasing, first one breast and then the other. All the tension Clarke had carried for weeks coiled in her muscles, and she was ready to spring almost before Niylah touched her. She knew it would take very little to make her come. Niylah appeared to know this too as she played at Clarke's entrance with her fingers, gathering the silky wetness that had pooled there.

"Relax, Clarke. Shhhh. Relax." Niylah stroked her tensed abdomen with her other hand. Clarke willed her muscles to uncoil, letting out a heavy breath. Her lower back, which had arched into Niylah's touch of its own accord, sank back into the furs. Niylah used the opportunity to enter her swiftly with two fingers. Clarke gripped them like a vice, and the girl gave her a second to get used to the feel before she started to move. Clarke grew quickly accustomed to having the girl inside her, and her inner muscles relaxed enough for Niylah to fuck her. The grounder wasted no time and pumped into Clarke rhythmically, curling her fingers upward again and again with every push. Clarke writhed under her hand until she met Niylah's rhythm, shifting her hips down to meet each stroke. Niylah fucked her harder, smacking wetly against her opening. The feeling intoxicated Clarke and reduced her to incoherent moaning.

"I need... I need..." She couldn't form a thought but spread her legs wider. Niylah continued her barrage on Clarke's cunt and dipped her head lower. An electric shock coursed through Clarke's body when she felt the girl's tongue touch her clit. Her hips bucked wildly, and Niylah used her other arm to hold her pelvis in place as she wrapped her lips around Clarke's clit. She sucked gently, and Clarke's body shuddered. Her pussy began to pulse around Niylah's fingers. When she felt the girl's tongue stroke her clit, it pushed her over the edge. Niylah pressed her fingers upward and curled into the upper wall of Clarke's cunt. The orgasm consumed her. Waves of it careened through Clarke's body as her inner walls clenched and throbbed around Niylah. The girl continued to fuck her, though more slowly now, helping to prolong Clarke's climax. She eased Clarke through her body's full release and didn't stop until the aftershocks had subsided and Clarke's grip on her fingers had relaxed.

Niylah withdrew from Clarke incrementally and made her way back to the head of the bed. Clarke's mind was a pleasant haze as Niylah kissed her cheek and neck. Her limbs buzzed with the aftereffects of her climax, her brain awash in post-sex chemicals. Niylah whispered faintly into her ear in Trigedasleng.

"Clarke, you are beautiful. You honor me with your body."

Clarke lay there, unable to move, suddenly unsure how to respond.

"You honor me, Niylah." A smile tugged at the other girl's lips, so Clarke figured she had come up with the right response to what sounded like a grounder formulation. They had these little blessings and sayings for every situation. Clarke slipped back into English. "If I had known we were going to do that I would've also honored you by bathing first."

"It's okay, really. I would have offered you a bath, but..." Niylah blushed faintly and gazed down at the furs. For a moment, she looked like the young woman she was, smiling and blushing at pillow talk. For a moment, her eyes were not haunted by the horrors this world had wrought.

"But I couldn't stop myself. Your wound cleaning skills are just that good." Niylah stole a glance at Clarke and leaned over for a kiss. Clarke grabbed Niylah's shoulder and pulled her in closer, capturing the woman's bottom lip between hers.

Instantly, the contact again stoked the fire between Clarke's legs. "Niylah, let me taste you."

"Really, you don't have to. Just let me take care of you."

At those words Clarke's heart faltered and the backs of her eyes stung with the sudden threat of hot tears. It had been another lifetime when anyone took care of Clarke. Before her dad got floated, before the time in lockup on the Ark, before the ground, before she became destroyer of worlds. Before she was Wanheda. Except... It hurt to even think her name... Except for Lexa, who had watched her as she slept. _It's okay, Clarke. You're safe._ The memory burned. Like touching a hot stove. Anger blazed in Clarke's chest at the power these images still had over her. They remained so close to the surface. A little kindness, a few words in her native tongue and it all came back. All this time she had spent running and evading, and yet it all lay in wait for her, ready to strike like the panther. With great effort she pushed the thoughts back down, let her desire overtake her barely contained rage. She hooked a leg around Niylah and rolled them over. 

"Clarke, you don't have to..." 

She clapped a hand over Niylah's mouth and whispered fiercely into her ear, "Shof op. I want you, and I'll have you." For a second Niylah's eyes grew wide with something like fear or awe. Clarke slid her hand away, only to replace it with her mouth. She kissed Niylah roughly, bit her way down the girl's neck. Niylah let out a barely suppressed moan that encouraged Clarke to keep going. She wedged a knee firmly into the girl's crotch and ground into her, noticing the enticing wetness again. Clarke licked at the salted skin between her breasts and took a hardened nipple between her lips. She teased it with her tongue first, making sure to catch Niylah's eye as she did so. She flashed the woman a wicked grin and bit down, just hard enough to get a reaction. Niylah yelped. Clarke swirled her tongue to soothe her while kneading the woman's other breast. Then she moved down Niylah's body, not bothering with any more preliminaries.

She could smell Niylah's arousal. It hinted at wood smoke and summer rain and something wild she couldn't name. Niylah widened her legs, and Clarke brushed her fingers a few times through the dewy curls before parting the girl's inner lips. Niylah shivered when Clarke's fingers exposed her. Her hips jolted when Clarke went in for a long, slow taste from the source. Clarke luxuriated for a moment in the warmth that met her tongue, relishing the grounder's essence. She reached her tongue inside as far as it would go, repeating the action a few times until she felt Niylah writhe. It was then that she went where she was sure Niylah wanted her. She licked upwards and brushed the flat of her tongue over Niylah's clit. Once. Twice. A third time. Clarke smiled to herself when she heard the woman invoke the names of grounder gods.

She found a rhythm quickly and worked Niylah's clit with the tip of her tongue. The woman's thighs shuddered next to her ears as Clarke pressed insistently at her silken opening, just before entering her all at once. The grounder clamped onto her two fingers, greeting them with an inviting slippery heat. Clarke slowed her tongue momentarily while she slid her fingers in and out a few times, earning a soft moan from Niylah. She angled her fingers in and up to gauge the reaction she got. The girl pushed down into Clarke's hand and tongue to gain more pressure. Instinct took over again, and Clarke laid into her, devouring the girl and fucking her without mercy. Niylah rode her fingers and ground onto Clarke's tongue. The two became a throbbing mess of interconnected bodies and pulsing need.

The seething rage in Clarke's chest distilled into a white hot desire to take Niylah completely, to see the woman give herself over to Clarke fully. At least this once. At least right now. Tomorrow did not exist. Only the will make Niylah come under her hand. She reluctantly dragged her tongue away and replaced it with her palm, massaging the grounder's clit as she fucked her. She moved back up Niylah's body and took a nipple in her mouth, mimicking the motions of her tongue on the girl's clit seconds before. Niylah moaned a barely discernible, "Beja, Klark. Beja." Please, she begged.

Clarke used her free arm to prop herself above the girl so she could watch her come. She used her knee to brace her hand and rutted into Niylah, fucking her relentlessly as the pitch of the girl's moans raised with each thrust. She felt Niylah's cunt begin pulse and throb around her fingers. "Come for me," she commanded in clipped Trigedasleng. She hooked her fingers up into the right spot, feeling the girl's climax burst around her and grip her fingers, pulling them further inside with rhythmic contractions. Clarke looked into Niylah's eyes and felt her heart lurch forlornly as she watched the girl take her pleasure. The sight broke her. It was too much for Clarke, too close to what her heart so desperately wanted. She had to shut her eyes. After Clarke was sure she had accompanied Niylah to her completion, she lowered herself onto the woman's body as she slipped her fingers out, taking care not to be too abrupt.

Finally collapsing onto Niylah, Clarke breathed out heavily, barely choking back an unbidden sob. She noticed that the deep scratch marks on her shoulder had begun to throb again. Futilely she squeezed her eyes shut but tears seeped out anyway, and not from the pain of the cat's strike. Clarke turned her head so the grounder wouldn't see her weakness. Niylah's arms wrapped around her back, gingerly at first to avoid the injury. Clarke's body betrayed her even as she tried with all her might to stop the flood that pressed behind her eyes. The tears came, and she finally gave up trying to hold back the sobs that wracked her body. Niylah held her that way for a while, silent while Clarke felt her heart break with the anguish she had dammed up for months now. The grounder gave her privacy, even as she held Clarke and kissed her cheek. Clarke couldn't make sense of the chaos inside her, a hot brew of anger, heartache, and though she pushed it away, the love that even Niylah's kindness couldn't replace. After a time, the tears subsided. Her breathing slowed, and she started to doze off, spent in every way she could be spent.

"Clarke." She felt the grounder jostle her gently. "Clarke. Don't fall asleep. I still need to clean up your back. You'll get blood poisoning if I don't." Clarke raised her head, realizing she had almost fallen asleep on top of Niylah. She rolled off, and Niylah got up to retrieve the cloth and water, along with a salve to seal the wounds. Clarke lay on her stomach, and Niylah sat beside her on the furs, picking up where she had left off earlier. She felt the girl pull up a sheet to cover her up to her lower back. The water shocked her again at first, but the cool air that followed soothed the throb enough that she could relax again. Niylah soaked off the dried blood and cleaned any remaining dirt from around the claw marks, letting the clean water pool a little before blotting it off with a dry cloth. The ointment stung, but then the ache dulled a little. An herbal scent Clarke couldn't place wafted on the night air.

When Niylah finished with the claw marks, she rubbed more of the ointment into Clarke's exhausted muscles. The softness of the furs, the pleasant scent, and Niylah's soothing touch finally overtook Clarke, and she drifted into a deeper sleep than she had known since before the Mountain. It gave her a few precious hours of respite before the nightmares jolted her awake again.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic and first attempt at erotica. Pls be kind.


End file.
